Bitcoin Exchange CEO Arrested

Update: Jan 27, 2014 -- BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem was arrested at JFK airport on money laundering charges. The head of the Winklevii-backed Bitcoin exchange is accused of selling more than $1 million in Bitcoin to users of Silk Road, an online black market that caters to purveyors and buyers of drugs and illicit paraphernalia. Last April before Shrem ran into legal troubles, MainStreet had the opportunity to talk with him about his Bitcoin bar in Midtown Manhattan. Check out the video interview below.

NEW YORK (MainStreet) In the wake of the Cyprus debt crisis, Alex Likhtenstein, the operating owner of Manhattan gastro-lounge EVR, capitalized on the Bitcoin mania by allowing his customers to pay with the virtual crypto-currency.

The 23-year-old Likhtenstein, born to Ukrainian parents in Vienna, was raised in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn and studied philosophy at William E. Macaulay Honors College, a selective CUNY program. He teamed up with his Brooklyn College buddy Charlie Shrem, the co-founder and CEO of Bitcoin exchange BitInstant, to bring this initiative to fruition at EVR. Check out the video below and see our attempt to introduce other types of currency (read: tulips) into EVR's repertoire.Video PlatformVideo ManagementVideo SolutionsVideo Player